Miles and Maria: Young Love
by Blue Phoenix 12
Summary: Sonic's son, Miles, and Shadow's daughter, Maria, have been going steady for months. Now Miles wants to take a big step, and confess his true feelings to Maria. This story is based on my fanfiction, Generation Beta.


It was a beautiful night. The sky was sparkling with stars, and the full moon was shining brightly above. There wasn't a single cloud in sight, nor was there any sign of artificial illumination nearby; the calm ocean by the beach of Green Hill was shimmering solely with the reflection of the natural light glowing high above in the night sky.

Sitting side by side on the shore, enjoying this romantic evening with one another, were two teenage hedgehogs. One of them was Miles Sonic Hedgehog, who was lavender in color and was the 16-year-old son of Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose. The other teenager was also 16 years old, was light gray in color, had faded red highlights in her quills, and was the daughter of Shadow the Hedgehog and Crystal Hedgehog: Maria Geraldine Hedgehog. Miles and Maria had been going steady for several months now, and were currently on a date they had arranged a week ago.

Supposedly it was like any other date the two teenagers had shared before. They had spent that Saturday afternoon wandering across town and talking, they had watched the sunset together in the open fields, and they had walked to the beach to savor the peaceful evening by the calm sea. It could easily have been just a normal date for Miles and Maria.

But it was not a normal date, for the simple reason that Miles had something very special in mind for tonight. It was something he had been planning to do for quite some time now, ever since he had taken the time to fully analyze his relationship with Maria two weeks ago. The lavender hedgehog had always cared for her, ever since she had walked through the door of their Science classroom on her first school day back in Green Hill. The light gray hedgehog had captivated him from the first time she had smiled at him, and since that day, Miles never had eyes for any other girl but her.

Now, as he sat on the beach facing the ocean, the 16-year-old boy glanced to his left at his girlfriend. The moonlight illuminated her already beautiful face in the most flattering fashion, making her light gray complexion shine to a bright silvery color. Miles recalled seeing this lovely color shining on her the day he had kissed her for the very first time, although that time it had been the light of the setting sun that had caused the effect. As he marveled at her beauty, Miles reached his hand out and took Maria's, clasping his fingers around hers and causing her to turn her attention away from the sea and to his eyes.

The teenagers stared at one another in silence for a moment, Miles's emerald green eyes gleaming brightly as he gazed into Maria's dark blue ones. They smiled fondly at each other, and as they turned their attention back to the shimmering ocean, the light gray hedgehog clasped her own fingers tighter around those of her boyfriend. The lavender hedgehog glanced at Maria's hand in his, now thinking back on their history together.

He remembered the bass lessons he had given her when he and his friends had invited her to join their band: Generation Beta. Miles played electric guitar in the band; his twin sister, Lily Rose Hedgehog, sang lead vocals; his cousin, Sonia Prower, played keyboards; and his best friend, Rex Echidna, played drums. Maria had mentioned to them that she used to know how to play the bass, and Lily, in her excitement to have their new friend join the band, insisted that her brother help her recover her skills on the instrument. Miles's twin loved to play the matchmaker whenever she could... and for that, at least in his own case, he was grateful. The bass lessons had indeed brought him closer to his crush, a fact which eventually led to the next step in their history.

Miles remembered the day he and Maria had shared their very first kiss. It was a Friday afternoon, and she had invited him to watch the sunset with her from her favorite hill in the open fields. It was a lovely spot, with a tall oak tree on the crest and roses blooming all around the foot of the mound. As the two hedgehogs had watched the sun setting and engaged in conversation with one another, they had suddenly felt compelled to acknowledge their feelings for each other. Miles had then decided to seize what he realized at the time was the perfect opportunity to act on his emotions: he leaned in and kissed Maria. Even today, after so many months together, both teenagers looked back on that day and remembered it as vividly as if it were only yesterday. It had been the happiest moment of their lives.

The lavender hedgehog remembered the great adventure he had shared with his friends and family, primarily focused on the shocking return of his father's archenemy: the evil Dr. Eggman. At one point during the episode, Maria had been singled out as Eggman's most important hostage, to be used as leverage in exchange for her father's Chaos Emerald. After a great battle that had involved his near death and the use of Chaos Control, Miles himself had rescued the light gray hedgehog and earned recognition as a hero. His dream, which had motivated him since he was only five years old, had finally come true.

So much had happened since that time. Miles and his friends occasionally accompanied Sonic and the other heroes on adventures against Dr. Eggman and his nephew, Igor Robotnik. Maria had learned, from Shadow himself, how to use Chaos Control to warp time and space. The band Generation Beta was thriving, as the five friends had been inspired to write new songs dedicated to their parents. And the two friends who had shared a very first kiss together were now boyfriend and girlfriend. After overcoming the obstacle of obtaining her father's approval, Miles could finally be with Maria.

Now, as the teenage boy gazed fondly at his girlfriend sitting beside him on the sandy shore, he felt his heart begin to race. He truly cared about her, and the reason this particular date was so special had to do with just how much he cared. He would not be so nervous now if he didn't have something important to tell her, which, as a matter of fact, he did.

"Maria..." Miles began, the smile gone from his lips. Once again, Maria turned away from the sea to look at her boyfriend.

"Yes, Miles?" she replied in her sweet voice, smiling at the lavender hedgehog beside her.

Miles hesitated, struggling to find the right words to say next. He had thought that once he started talking, the words would come easily of their own accord. Sadly, he was mistaken. All he could do was stare awkwardly at the light gray hedgehog, trying to find his voice and knowing all the while that her stunning beauty would not make this process any easier.

"Maria", Miles tried again, "there's... something I've been meaning to tell you..."

At this, the smile slowly faded from Maria's lips, and she tilted her head slightly as she gazed at her boyfriend in concern and asked:

"What is it, Miles?"

The lavender hedgehog stared at the object of his affection for a few seconds, then looked away from her, blushed slightly, and said timidly:

"I'm sorry; I think it might be easier for me to say this if you don't look directly at me."

A gentle laugh escaped from the light gray hedgehog's throat, but she abided by her boyfriend's wish and turned away from him to face the calm sea again, though she still kept her hand clasped firmly in his. Before long, Miles found the words he was looking for, and despite his nerves, he continued to speak in as casual a tone as he could manage.

"Maria... I really like you. I think you're... amazing. You're beautiful, and you're smart, and you're fun... and I feel so lucky to be your boyfriend."

At these words, a grin began to form on the light gray hedgehog's lips. She could tell where this speech was going. Instead of replying, however, she decided to let the lavender hedgehog continue.

"I think what we have is really special; I mean, not only are you my girlfriend, but you're also one of my best friends. You know I've always cared about you, ever since you moved back to Green Hill and I saw you for the first time in ten years. Around that time, I couldn't stop thinking about you, and now, months later... I find that I still can't stop thinking about you. Lately, I've been feeling..."

But upon reaching this part of his speech, Miles suddenly realized that there was no word to accurately describe how he felt. It was like nothing he had ever felt before, and although the words had been flowing naturally throughout his confession, they now seemed to stop dead in their tracks. He could not continue, not in the casual manner in which he had been speaking until now. So, as he gazed nervously at his girlfriend beside him, Miles instead decided to make the final leap and tell Maria exactly what he had been desperately wanting to say from the very beginning of the evening.

"Maria... I..."

But the words would not come. Now that he was finally here, on the perfect night, in the perfect setting, with the perfect person, Miles Sonic Hedgehog felt the perfect words catch in his throat. He wanted to say them, more than anything, but it seemed to be a losing battle between him and his intense nerves.

"Maria... I... I really..."

And then, at that moment, the most wonderfully amazing thing happened: Maria, who knew exactly what her boyfriend wanted to say, decided to help him overcome the fear she sensed in his voice. In one fluid motion, she released Miles's hand, turned to face him, placed both her hands on either side of his face, leaned in... and kissed him.

For a long moment, the couple remained with their lips connected, savoring the passionate kiss, until finally it was over and the light gray hedgehog pulled slightly back to look into the lavender hedgehog's eyes. While Miles stared at her completely stunned, Maria smiled kindly at him and whispered the very words her boyfriend had been wanting to say to her for at least two weeks, which, as it so happened, were the same words she had been wanting to say to him for just as long:

"I love you, Miles."

It was the most perfect moment of the already wonderful evening. Miles's eyes widened in shock as he registered his girlfriend's words... then, slowly, a smile returned to his face. A laugh of excitement subconsciously escaped from the teenage boy's lips as he looked down for a moment, feeling his fear and nerves suddenly vanish into thin air. A few seconds later, he looked up, leaned in, and kissed Maria again, his overwhelming happiness only too apparent. After pulling back from the kiss, Miles then looked the beautiful girl in her dark blue eyes and, drawing courage from her words, he whispered his own confession back to her:

"I love you too, Maria."

Upon hearing her confession reciprocated, the light gray hedgehog felt a broad grin beginning to form on her lips once again. For a minute, the two hedgehogs did nothing more than stare silently at each other... until finally, in an outburst of joy and excitement, Maria threw her arms around Miles and knocked him over, both of them laughing as they fell to the ground. The rest of the evening passed in a haze, for the teenagers felt they were now in a dream. A perfectly romantic dream.

That night, as Miles and Maria lay in their beds and gazed out their bedroom windows at the starry sky, they realized that their hearts would not stop racing and their smiles would not fade away. Together, they had finally discovered one of life's most wonderful secrets: there was nothing in the world that compared in the slightest to the exhilarating beauty of young love.


End file.
